[ND Insight] Jesse Pollak's Prediction: The Future of Crypto Payments Driven by AI Agents and 'Agentic Commerce'

On April 25, 2026, Jesse Pollak, lead developer of the Base network, predicted a fundamental paradigm shift in the crypto economy. He asserted that autonomous AI agents will become the key driver promoting the next generation of payment adoption beyond human users. This vision of 'Agentic Commerce' is moving beyond mere theory and is being realized through the integration of programmable wallets and open-source protocols like x402.

AI agents require native, programmable payment systems to function effectively. This is why cryptocurrency must become the backbone of the AI economy.

Pollak defined Agentic Commerce as an economic system centered on non-human actors where AI agents directly perform financial transactions. Currently, equipping AI agents with native payment systems is recognized as an essential step, as blockchain technology is far better suited to supporting AI autonomy than existing complex financial networks. Pollak emphasized that cryptocurrency will be the only alternative as AI agents independently allocate resources and purchase services.

Infrastructure for Autonomy: Agentic Wallets and AgentKit

In line with this trend, Coinbase launched 'Agentic Wallets' on February 11, 2026, a dedicated crypto wallet infrastructure for non-human actors. These wallets use Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) to isolate private keys, enhancing security and ensuring keys are not exposed to agent code. Furthermore, they support gasless transactions on the Base network, providing an environment where agents can autonomously trade and generate revenue.

• Enhanced private key security with a non-custodial wallet structure based on Trusted Execution Environments (TEE)
• Multi-chain support including Base, EVM-compatible networks, and Solana
• Gasless transactions and programmable spending limit settings
• Developer-centric framework integration through AgentKit

Specifically, the x402 protocol plays a significant role in Pollak's vision. This protocol provides a standardized framework for payments between agents or between agents and humans, increasing interoperability across the ecosystem. This establishes a technical standard through which AI agents operating on different networks and services can seamlessly exchange value without complex intermediary processes.

Besides Coinbase, competitors like Bitget and Autonolas are actively entering the AI agent market. Bitget supports agent trading through advanced API and SDK tools that offer access to over 1,300 coins and low maker fees of around 0.01%. On the other hand, Autonolas focuses on multi-agent systems that use a Tendermint consensus gadget to reach consensus before multiple agents execute off-chain business logic.

In contrast to these technological advances, the cryptocurrency market experienced extreme volatility on April 25, 2026. A shooting incident during the White House Correspondents' Dinner caused former President Donald Trump to be evacuated, leading to a plunge in the market cap of the TRUMP memecoin and approximately $100 million in liquidations. Unlike the human-centric market that reacts sensitively to such political events, the possibility has been raised that AI agents could increase long-term market stability through logic-based, rational market participation.

Institutional Acceptance and Future Outlook

April 2026 was also a time when institutional validation of cryptocurrency took place, with Morgan Stanley beginning full-scale spot Bitcoin investments. As the economic activities of AI agents are combined with this institutional foundation, the size of the crypto payment market is expected to expand further. Experts predict that transaction volume will increase exponentially as AI agents perform economic activities 24/7 without human intervention.

Jesse Pollak is scheduled to attend the Consensus event in Miami in May 2026 to reveal a detailed roadmap for AI-driven growth. Investors and developers worldwide are watching closely to see if Agentic Commerce can establish itself as a substantial pillar of the crypto economy beyond a mere technological trend.